[From the Log of the Free Trader Faerie Queene] 296-1105

Amanda Zhao's Log, 296-1105

I am not sanguine about staying here for long. Expenses will pile up, and before you know it we'll be deeper in debt than we already are. My good friend Zauer tells me that he has located a woman who can help us find a new crew, and she'll make a good Steward as well. If she's as good as he says, we should be able to get an Engineer and Medic quickly and be on our way. I'm meeting with her later today. I'm already resolved on hiring Zauer on. I'll call him a "handyman" or something. Since he's been a Corsair up in the Extents before coming down here to Regina, he's an excellent troubleshooter.

Supplemental: Met with Zauer's Steward. She's a Zho, which creeps me right the fuck out. It's like she's looking into my brain every time she glances at me. Her name is Qlotleqiepr, which I thought meant that she's some kind of Zho Noble, but she says that she isn't, and just wants to be called Qlotl. She says that she was never in the military, that she was just a low-level bureaucrat, and that she came to the Imperium to find a missing relative. I don't know if I believe her about all that, but she seems like she has skills that we need, so I've retained her. She says that she'll get right on the search for a Medic and Engineer. I just hope that she can find some useful candidates in the next five days, or we're going to be looking at taking out a loan just to get off this rock, not even considering the mortgage is due too soon. While she's doing that, I'm going to start looking into some paying cargo and passengers, and maybe pick up something on spec. Zauer says he'll advance me if necessary. I'll get started on that tomorrow. I think that we're going to head to Jenghe, unless someone with a lot of money wants to go somewhere else. I think that my ultimate goal will be to get to District 268, to check out places to retire someday. Tarsus sounds nice, but I'd like to see for myself.

Additional: Zauer reminds me that we may have to find a Gunner somewhere, maybe two. It's a dangerous universe out there.